I still remember the time my sister checked out Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars from the library and played the record five times in one day! by the end of the day I felt like jettisoning her off into outerspace. ;) The astronaut does a pretty good rendition of the song.

Well said Duane. You probably also remember the first grainy, fuzzy TV from the moon, with awful sound. The fact that such a professional video can be produced in a similar environment is a reminder of how far we have come.

I'm glad he modified the lyrics a bit to get rid of the part where he floats off into outer space, never to be heard from or seen again.
But seriously, I think he did an awesome job. The space program should be about a lot of things. Of course science and technology are top of the list, but pain old inspiration is pretty important in my book too, and I find this quite inspirational.
That inspiration is important on so many levels. It keeps young folks interested in science and technology - the things that will make life better for all of us, it reminds us that despite all of the machinery, bits and bytes, smog and strife, that we are all people - that we can keep some humanity in it all.

Hmm I wonder if the comment about Bowie's permission was tongue in cheek? Given that beyond the 3 mile limit on a ship copyright law doesn't apply, I doubt it would apply outside the vertical 200km limit :-) I thought Cmdr Hatfield did a splendid job, not far of Bowie's, and as others have mentioned his other educational videos serve the task well of educating the masses as to exactly what space flight means for them.

That would be considered slavery wouldn't it, 24 hours a day with no me time? If you consider that acceptable let me know, I will gladly employ you. I'm guessing we shouldn't let you go to the toilet or eat, you can do that when your contract's over :-)